ATTO TERZO

RPI is certainly a very respected form of prog, Italy being the instigator of such legendary prog as the wonderful Premiata Forneri Marconi, Le Orme, Area and Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso among others. I was delighted to receive this CD from Delirio Sonoro. The packaging is simply exquisite. The cover is a very simple design with giant moon over a sundown horizon, moon mountains and calm still mauve oceans. The scene is one of serenity and stillness. The CD features the same design and inner layout is more of the cover artwork, as is the back cover. There is a consistency of design and it is effective, and one might think by looking at this layout that the music would be ambient, quiet composed New Age spacey music. They would be mistaken for thinking this though.

This is a very inconsistent album and not all that ambient and Delirio Sonoro are clearly a schizophrenic band that cannot or refuses to sit within any specific genre. From the beginning when "Avventura" starts there is a driving percussion beat that is relentless and some rather dynamic vocals chanting in Italian by Saulo Chiaramoni. There are nuances of spacey instrumentation amidst the hypnotic rock beat, but it is an unexpected sound for this reviewer. Nothing like Italian prog I have previously heard. I did not really enjoy this opening track, so onto the next.

"Flusso" kicks in with a pulsating bass riff, over a hi hat cymbal pattern and distant psyched guitars. The vocals are multi layered, a low droning chant and a higher chanted vocal. Too dominant for me however, and I felt the music was good enough to stand alone without being drowned by repetitive one note droning vocalisations. I didn't enjoy these angry vocals at all from Saulo Chiaramoni on the album. The instrumental break is a guitar that sounds almost like an Indian sitar. So after 2 tracks I remain not too impressed so far. "E Se Domani" has a poppy sound, with steady beat and easy listening melody; it features a female artist, Roberta Tomasino. who adds a texture of beauty to the sound after the abrasive vocals previously. The sound is more like Bacamarte with the female vocals and there is a definite Caribbean rhythm intermixed within the intricate soundscape. This is a crossover sound that is quite out of place after all the zaniness of the first 2 tracks, but delightfully accessible, an improvement over previous tracks.

"It's Braining Again" is a definitive highlight, and in fact is a creative, psychedelic instrumental. The spacey effects are haunting and mesmirising. The track is the highlight of the whole album in many ways featuring a divine clarinet from Marco Guidi, that lifts the song into the stratosphere. The clarinet blazes in a passage of pure prog bliss.

"Stando" is an Italian pop song with echoing, LOUD vocals of Saulo Chiaramoni that are overbearing on the music at times, but there is a cool little guitar riff. The drum beat from Daniele Santini is great, with some quirky little embellishments in the mid section, over a spacey synth and guitar. It is a more mainstream song that would probably sound comfortable on the Italian radiowaves.

"Non Ti Aspettero" is a rocker with more echoing strong vocals but much better for my ears. The melody is so dang catchy it's criminal. I loved this from the very first listen and played it often during this review. The guitars are psychedelic and beautiful harmonies in the vocals work so well. The rocking feel is a highlight among a lot of difficult to access songs on this album. The synth solo on this is masterful, very 70s sounding at times and full of energetic crunching psych prog blasts. Wow, the ending features a sound effect of a stylus on a vinyl record, and that is an innovative touch, making the song feel even more retro. A true gem on the album.

"Be In The Mystery" is another infectious melody, the band are either growing on me or it's getting better as it goes on after a rather shaky start. There is a funkadelic keyboard riff that works over a spacey lead mixed well under the sound. The vocals are very strange, with a spoken narration in English I can relate to, repeated throughout the song; "The real trick to life is not to be in the know, but be in the mystery". The lead solo is a nice touch. It almost sounds like Camel's Andy Latimer or Hawkwind's guitar method. Another very good track on the album, the song describes the new discoveries of quantum physics and it's inspired by the film "What the bleep do we know".

"Lascio Andare Il Mio Riposo " has more of the phased out effect vocals that sound similar to the opening tracks from Saulo Chiaramoni. Once again I am not into this vocal style and it is cringe worthy for me. There is a strong network of percussive metrical patterns from Daniele Santini and chanted vocalisations amidst keyboard layers. Not a good track by any measure.

"Un Altro Mare" is a symphonic oddity, with massive keyboard/strings sweeps of a classical kind, with chanted vocals that are odd and maddeningly repetitive. Once again a song that tends to grow on you over a period of time.

"Darkest Hour" is a treasure with more female vocals that have Arabian flourishes, similar to some Arab influenced music you may be used to. The guitars are psychedelic wah wah pedal heavy spacey blasts. I love that jazz fusion rhythm and sax that chimes in. The guitars are also funky in the instrumental section over the Miles Davis style trumpet blasts. The vocals are hypnotic repeating 'Darkest Hour' over and over. The feel is dark and unsettling, but it is a highlight of this album once again, the Delirio Remix, only available on the CD format as a bonus track.

About a minute later some spacey Hawkwind like effects are heard, another song! The ghost track is experimental and spacey, without a standard structure, but a repetitive haunting motif and a voice saying "AND SO", a sample from the band's first album, mixed with a track from "Bottiglie e Tempo". Each Delirio Sonoro album contains a reference of the previous albums, as a point of continuum linking all of the albums; who says innovation is dead? A band member informed me that the next album will contain the same ghost track with some music added from "Atto Terzo". The music stops suddenly, without fanfare, and it is all over.

Overall the album features some outstanding tracks and these are without a doubt the wonderful "It's Braining Again", "Darkest Hour", "Non Ti Aspettero", "Be In The Mystery", and "Un Altro Mare". An EP of these tracks would have been deserved of 4 stars at least. The weakest tracks mar this release and these are "Avventura", "Flusso" and "Stando", I guess I am not a fan of vocalist Saulo Chiaramoni; and the others are in the middle ground somewhere for me, with only moments of greatness. It is a sound that really is different when you are used to listening to certain genres.

The band are lapsing between genres, pop mainstream, Italian traditional songs to psychedelic spacey compositions. The eclectic feel is dominant, though I wish the band could settle into one particular style rather than experimenting with hip hop beats, electronic effects, funky rhythms, spaced out synths and psychedelic guitars garnished with Italian progressive vocals. The result is an inconsistent sound with moments of beautiful prog highlights amongst some tracks that descend into fractured la Italiana mediocrity. The tracks are catchy overall and accessible for the average listener, but I was expecting something psychedelic and way out. When Delirio Sonoro take off into this territory it is a sheer delight, but they sound like two different bands at times. I can only say that the band are innovative with huge potential to release a masterpiece album, and hopefully there will be greater music to come

Share this DELIRIO SONORO review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to AtomicCrimsonRush
• Report this review (#293646)
• Buy DELIRIO SONORO music online with PA partners
• Show all DELIRIO SONORO MP3/Stream
• Go to DELIRIO SONORO page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Atto Terzo page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for DELIRIO SONORO related discussions